Learning How to Teach Computer Science
- And Why I Teach the Way I do
Teaching computer science has been one of the greatest joys of my life. There is no happier sound then hearing the exuberant shout from a student: "My program runs!!!". In this talk, I describe my own journey learning and then later teaching computer science. I was trained to do research, earned a PhD, and was then thrown into a classroom of students. Whoa!!! With little training, I learned how to teach computer science, and over thirty years later I am continuing to try new practices and strategies. Along the way I realized how to make concepts come alive through visualization and interaction, built some tools, and baked some cookies. Underneath it all, I encountered my own struggles that I have conquered or learned to live with.
